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Popular streamers Pewdiepie, Pokimane, and Corpse Husband have recently either limited the amount fans can donate or asked for fans not to make big donations.
Recently, Pokimane placed a cap on her donations at just five dollars. Following this, Pewdiepie announced he would no longer accept donations from viewers and Corpse Husband asked viewers not to donate large amounts. Why are these streamers pushing for smaller donations?
Why streamers might ask for smaller donations
Streamers often rely on the goodwill of fans who are willing to fund their content creation to get by financially. Even with ad revenue and sponsorships, it can be difficult to make a living producing content, and only a select few ever get to the point of being able to fully sustain themselves.
That’s why it can be surprising to see streamers seemingly asking for fewer donations, or outright limiting their donations entirely. It is a rare occurrence when anyone asks for less money from their job, and yet three streamers have taken action to limit their income in the last few days.
However, their decisions may make a lot more sense than it seems. There are a multitude of perspectives available to analyze these decisions, and it can be alluring to imply that these limitations are meant to function as some form of marketing ploy that will pay out more in the long run.
However, the much simpler answer is that these three streamers feel they have achieved enough success to not need to rely on big donations anymore. Pewdiepie had been the most subscribed to YouTuber from 2014-2019, and arguably makes enough money from other sources to not need further donations from streams. Pokimane, likewise, is one of the most followed Twitch streamers, and may be in a similar position.
Corpse, experiencing his own meteoric rise in popularity, is probably generating more income now than he previously needed.
A case for empathy
This year has not been easy for anyone. The global pandemic that has overstayed its welcome and yet shows no sign of leaving soon. Additionally, many people are struggling to get by with both more expenses and less income.
It’s no surprise that people stuck at home on semi-quarantine have turned to streamers and content creators to help pass the time. But for streamers who are hyperaware of these situations, it can eat at their thoughts that every dollar they accept may come from someone going through a difficult time themselves.
While this is probably not the right decision for all streamers to make, it does bring a certain degree of humanity to the profession.
For some streamers, this may really be a calculated attempt to market their brand but to indulge in such cynicism at a time like this wouldn’t help anyone. For now, it’s a small step that may lead to big changes.
